Week 2: Pick Six West Recaps

WESTERN KANSAS PICK SIX RECAP

HILL CITY 49, NESS CITY 18

Hill City coach Travis Desbien wasn't quite sure how to explain a bizarre opening sequence that saw his Ringnecks and Ness City combine for six turnovers in the first four minutes and 37 seconds of Friday's game at Ness City.

But in eight-player football, Desbien has learned to expect the unexpected.

Friday was a prime example, with the Ringnecks and Eagles each committing three fumbles apiece before they hit the midway point of the first quarter.

Hill City scored on the game's sixth turnover when Jaden Nuss scooped up a fumble at about the Ness City 10 and took it in for the game's first touchdown to cap off the chaotic opening sequence.

When the dust settled, the Ringnecks began to take control, using a huge game from sophomore quarterback Aiden Aimrein to break away for a 49-18 win.

"I don't know that I can attribute it to one thing," Desbien said of the early fumbles. "Maybe it was just that weird, fluke sequence of football where things just happened to roll that way. I really can't explain what the heck of was going on there.

"You never know in Eight-Man football. You never know what you're going to get. Tonight, for the first (few) minutes of that game it was just a turnover fest. It could have been nerves. It was early in the quarter, and then things settled down a little bit."

Hill City (2-0) led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter before two touchdowns from Aimrein helped the Ringnecks take a 21-6 lead into halftime. Hill City stayed in control from there.

Desbien said the Ringnecks had no trouble shaking off their early miscues.

"The good thing is this team is so tightly knit," Desbien said. "We don't have any, what I would call, bad apples. Everybody buys in and everybody loves to be a part of a team. Nobody gets down on anybody. If Aiden throws an interception or somebody coughs the ball up a couple times, nobody's going to yell it anybody, because everybody loves each other and everybody loves football. That's part of what makes good teams good, sometimes those things you don't see on the field."

Aimrein, whose freshman season was derailed by a broken arm he suffered in the season opener last year, finished with a 282 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The 6-foot-1, 171-pounder was the Ringnecks' workhorse, carrying it 36 times.

"His style is just aggression," Desbien said. "He plays very angry."

The two teams combined for a total of 12 turnovers. Ness City had seven while all five of Hill City's turnovers occurred in the first half.

Nuss had two rushing touchdowns to go along with the fumble return for a score. Ayden Nickelson forced three fumbles for the Ringnecks and Conner Dinkel had two fumble recoveries. Kaleb Atkins picked off a pass for Hill City.

Both teams were missing key players. Hill City was without senior end/linebacker Cody Presley, who is expected to return soon from a leg injury. Ness City standout Taylor Cable is expected to miss the entire football season with an injury, and the Eagles saw junior running back Danny Guzman and senior receiver Corbin Ross leave the game with injuries on Friday.

Ness City's Alex Pavlu rushed for 126 yards including a 63-yard score, and also intercepted two passes on defense, while quarterback Jose Guzman finished with 82 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Ness City (1-1) will face La Crosse at home next week.

Hill City will play host to Leoti next week.

"I feel like we're in a good spot," Desbien said of the Ringnecks' 2-0 start, "but I also know we've got a lot of good teams around us."

SCOTT CITY 14, HOLCOMB 12

Scott City (2-0) led 14-0 at halftime and held on after Holcomb scored 12 points in the third quarter to draw within two points. However, after Khai Kosner's 16-yard touchdown run for Holcomb, Scott City stopped a running play on the two-point try to keep the lead. Holcomb was forced to punt from their own territory midway through the fourth quarter and Scott City proceeded to run off the clock, moving to 2-0. Scott City's Jace Thomas ran for 101 yards and a touchdown. Brady Welker scored the Beavers' first touchdown on a 1-yard run. Holcomb's Kaden Johnson threw a touchdown pass to Levi Knoll. The Longhorns fell to 1-1.

Up next: Scott City vs. Cimarron, Holcomb vs. Southwestern Heights

OSBORNE 46, BELOIT-ST. JOHN'S 0

At Osborne, the Bulldogs bounced back from a season-opening loss to Hill City with a shutout of St. John's. Osborne forced four turnovers and ran for 281 yards. Mason Schurr rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Doak Guttery had a rushing touchdown and threw a 26-yard TD to Ronald Thompson, while Ryan Hackerott-Cline also had a rushing TD for the Bulldogs. Connor Schurr finished with 78 yards on the ground on 10 carries for the Bulldogs, and Nathan Goheen logged 10 tackles and a sack for Osborne. St. John's dropped to 1-1 after opening with a 38-22 win over Sylvan-Lucas. They finished with just 47 yards of total offense.

Up next: Osborne at Lakeside; Beloit-St. John's at Thunder Ridge

HOXIE 64, LA CROSSE 28

At Hoxie, the Indians evened up their record after taking a lopsided loss to Leoti in the opener. Hoxie quarterback Ashton Dowell threw four touchdowns and ran for another. Cade Gourley finished with 100 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries while catching two touchdown passes from Dowell. Brady Jones had 54 yards on four carries with a touchdown and caught a 27-yard TD, and Braydon Sheetz also had a 32-yard touchdown reception. Dowell completed 8 of 13 passes for 157 yards. La Crosse dropped to 0-2. Dowell also picked off two passes for the Indians, who forced the Leopards into seven turnovers. Jones, Ayden Campbell and Kaden Sekavec each had an interception, and Hoxie recovered two fumbles. Donovan Balluch recorded 14 tackles with two sacks. La Crosse dropped to 0-2 on the season.

Up next: Hoxie at Triplains/Brewster; La Crosse at Ness City

WAKEENEY-TREGO 76, LEOTI-WICHITA COUNTY 28

At Leoti, WaKeeney pulled the upset in its first game of the season, using huge nights from James Kreigh and Owen Day to roll past last year's Eight-Player Division I runner-up. Coming off a forfeit win in the opener, the Golden Eagles broke away with a 34-14 third quarter and held the Indians to just six points after halftime. Kreigh rushed for 247 yards and four touchdowns, while Day accounted for seven touchdowns, throwing five TDs and rushing for two more. Day ran for 142 yards and threw for 181. Gunner Wilson caught three touchdown passes for the Golden Eagles. Leoti was coming off an impressive 56-6 win over Hoxie. Quarterback Ehrik Hermosillo ran for touchdown and threw for one, finishing with 166 yards of total offense.

Up next: WaKeeney at Victoria; Leoti at Hill City

PLAINVILLE 37, OAKLEY 6

At Plainville, the Cardinals used stout defense and a balanced rushing attack to pick up a second straight lopsided win. Ethan Hamilton (19 carries, 91 yards, one TD), Anders Dewey (4-73, 1 TD), Ben Hansen (4-53) and Kyle Werner (11-30, 1 TD) combined for the Cardinals' 288 yards on the ground. Dewey also returned an interception for a touchdown and took a punt return 60 yards for a score. The Cardinals bottled up Oakley on the ground, holding the Plainsmen to 31 yards on 26 carries. Will Schmidt threw for 182 yards for the Plainsmen. Jackson Pfeifer caught four passes for 71 yards. Oakley, last year's Class 1A runner-up, fell to 0-2.

Up next: Plainville at TMP-Marian; Oakley at Ell-Saline.